In just over two years, Cedar Enterprises went from a one-man show with a pickup truck to a team of employees executing government contracts.
How was all this possible?
Owner Bryan Wendt credits the supportive team at Southwest Colorado SBDC.
Cedar Enterprises specializes in landscaping and fire mitigation. For his first five years in business, Bryan was the sole owner and operator and focused on small residential projects. In 2020, the company was awarded a 100-acre forest service contract, and he quickly realized that he needed to invest in equipment in order to fulfill it.
Bryan reached out to the SBDC and was connected with Carl Malmberg. “Carl sat down with me and went through a cost-benefit analysis. He helped me identify the value of the contract, the machine loan payment, the cost of diesel fuel, and more. I began to understand what the risk looked like, so I could develop a plan to move forward. I realized I was going to need a loan, which was nerve-racking, but it all worked out great. It was the first major stepping stone in the company’s growth.”
Ultimately, Cedar Enterprises was able to execute the contract in just three months, and the company has continued to bid on and receive other government contracts.
Soon, Bryan realized he needed help and hired two, full-time employees. Then, in 2022, business started to slow down. Fire mitigation calls weren’t coming in, and he was facing huge expenses.
He was connected with Bert Carder to review his marketing efforts. The first thing Bert noticed was that his old website was not secure. This meant that any prospective visitors would get security flags before visiting the site and that very few would actually be willing to click the link. He also identified a new competitor on the first page of Google, which meant that Cedar Enterprises was being out-marketed.
“Bert helped me put together a new website in just a few days. We ran some Google ads, and I quickly landed a job that paid for all the work he did and then some. He went above and beyond the call of duty to help me and saved our season this year.”
Bert also showed Bryan the importance of Google reviews, returning phone calls, and displaying a professional image—all of which reflect the quality work that Cedar Enterprises is known for.
Bryan is grateful for the SBDC for all of their support. “Cedar Enterprises probably wouldn’t be around right now if it weren’t for the SBDC. Carl, Bert, Hannah, and Mary have all been so helpful and encouraging!”
